1
|
Kopler I, Marchaim U, Tikász IE, Opaliński S, Kokin E, Mallinger K, Neubauer T, Gunnarsson S, Soerensen C, Phillips CJC, Banhazi T. Farmers' Perspectives of the Benefits and Risks in Precision Livestock Farming in the EU Pig and Poultry Sectors. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:2868. [PMID: 37760267 PMCID: PMC10525424 DOI: 10.3390/ani13182868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
More efficient livestock production systems are necessary, considering that only 41% of global meat demand will be met by 2050. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has clearly illustrated the necessity of building sustainable and stable agri-food systems. Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) offers the continuous capacity of agriculture to contribute to overall human and animal welfare by providing sufficient goods and services through the application of technical innovations like digitalization. However, adopting new technologies is a challenging issue for farmers, extension services, agri-business and policymakers. We present a review of operational concepts and technological solutions in the pig and poultry sectors, as reflected in 41 and 16 European projects from the last decade, respectively. The European trend of increasing broiler-meat production, which is soon to outpace pork, stresses the need for more outstanding research efforts in the poultry industry. We further present a review of farmers' attitudes and obstacles to the acceptance of technological solutions in the pig and poultry sectors using examples and lessons learned from recent European projects. Despite the low resonance at the research level, the investigation of farmers' attitudes and concerns regarding the acceptance of technological solutions in the livestock sector should be incorporated into any technological development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Idan Kopler
- European Wing Unit, Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat Shmona 11016, Israel;
| | - Uri Marchaim
- European Wing Unit, Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat Shmona 11016, Israel;
| | - Ildikó E. Tikász
- Agricultural Economics Directorate, Institute of Agricultural Economics, H-1093 Budapest, Hungary;
| | - Sebastian Opaliński
- Department of Environmental Hygiene and Animal Welfare, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-375 Wrocław, Poland;
| | - Eugen Kokin
- Institute of Forestry and Engineering, Estonian University of Life Science, 51014 Tartu, Estonia; (E.K.); (C.J.C.P.)
| | | | | | - Stefan Gunnarsson
- Department of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-532 23 Skara, Sweden;
| | - Claus Soerensen
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark;
| | - Clive J. C. Phillips
- Institute of Forestry and Engineering, Estonian University of Life Science, 51014 Tartu, Estonia; (E.K.); (C.J.C.P.)
- CUSP Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
| | - Thomas Banhazi
- AgHiTech Kft, H-1101 Budapest, Hungary;
- International College, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Taghipoor M, Pastell M, Martin O, Nguyen Ba H, van Milgen J, Doeschl-Wilson A, Loncke C, Friggens NC, Puillet L, Muñoz-Tamayo R. Animal board invited review: Quantification of resilience in farm animals. Animal 2023; 17:100925. [PMID: 37690272 DOI: 10.1016/j.animal.2023.100925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Resilience, when defined as the capacity of an animal to respond to short-term environmental challenges and to return to the prechallenge status, is a dynamic and complex trait. Resilient animals can reinforce the capacity of the herd to cope with often fluctuating and unpredictable environmental conditions. The ability of modern technologies to simultaneously record multiple performance measures of individual animals over time is a huge step forward to evaluate the resilience of farm animals. However, resilience is not directly measurable and requires mathematical models with biologically meaningful parameters to obtain quantitative resilience indicators. Furthermore, interpretive models may also be needed to determine the periods of perturbation as perceived by the animal. These applications do not require explicit knowledge of the origin of the perturbations and are developed based on real-time information obtained in the data during and outside the perturbation period. The main objective of this paper was to review and illustrate with examples, different modelling approaches applied to this new generation of data (i.e., with high-frequency recording) to detect and quantify animal responses to perturbations. Case studies were developed to illustrate alternative approaches to real-time and post-treatment of data. In addition, perspectives on the use of hybrid models for better understanding and predicting animal resilience are presented. Quantification of resilience at the individual level makes possible the inclusion of this trait into future breeding programmes. This would allow improvement of the capacity of animals to adapt to a changing environment, and therefore potentially reduce the impact of disease and other environmental stressors on animal welfare. Moreover, such quantification allows the farmer to tailor the management strategy to help individual animals to cope with the perturbation, hence reducing the use of pharmaceuticals, and decreasing the level of pain of the animal.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M Taghipoor
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants, 91120 Palaiseau, France.
| | - M Pastell
- Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Production Systems, Helsinki, Finland
| | - O Martin
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants, 91120 Palaiseau, France
| | - H Nguyen Ba
- Univ Clermont Auvergne, INRAE, VetAgro Sup, UMR Herbivores, F-63122 SaintGenes Champanelle, France
| | | | - A Doeschl-Wilson
- The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush EH25 9RG, UK
| | - C Loncke
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants, 91120 Palaiseau, France
| | - N C Friggens
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants, 91120 Palaiseau, France
| | - L Puillet
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants, 91120 Palaiseau, France
| | - R Muñoz-Tamayo
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants, 91120 Palaiseau, France
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Tzanidakis C, Simitzis P, Arvanitis K, Panagakis P. An overview of the current trends in precision pig farming technologies. Livest Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.livsci.2021.104530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
|
4
|
Gómez Y, Stygar AH, Boumans IJMM, Bokkers EAM, Pedersen LJ, Niemi JK, Pastell M, Manteca X, Llonch P. A Systematic Review on Validated Precision Livestock Farming Technologies for Pig Production and Its Potential to Assess Animal Welfare. Front Vet Sci 2021; 8:660565. [PMID: 34055949 PMCID: PMC8160240 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2021.660565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Several precision livestock farming (PLF) technologies, conceived for optimizing farming processes, are developed to detect the physical and behavioral changes of animals continuously and in real-time. The aim of this review was to explore the capacity of existing PLF technologies to contribute to the assessment of pig welfare. In a web search for commercially available PLF for pigs, 83 technologies were identified. A literature search was conducted, following systematic review guidelines (PRISMA), to identify studies on the validation of sensor technologies for assessing animal-based welfare indicators. Two validation levels were defined: internal (evaluation during system building within the same population that were used for system building) and external (evaluation on a different population than during system building). From 2,463 articles found, 111 were selected, which validated some PLF that could be applied to the assessment of animal-based welfare indicators of pigs (7% classified as external, and 93% as internal validation). From our list of commercially available PLF technologies, only 5% had been externally validated. The more often validated technologies were vision-based solutions (n = 45), followed by load-cells (n = 28; feeders and drinkers, force plates and scales), accelerometers (n = 14) and microphones (n = 14), thermal cameras (n = 10), photoelectric sensors (n = 5), radio-frequency identification (RFID) for tracking (n = 2), infrared thermometers (n = 1), and pyrometer (n = 1). Externally validated technologies were photoelectric sensors (n = 2), thermal cameras (n = 2), microphone (n = 1), load-cells (n = 1), RFID (n = 1), and pyrometer (n = 1). Measured traits included activity and posture-related behavior, feeding and drinking, other behavior, physical condition, and health. In conclusion, existing PLF technologies are potential tools for on-farm animal welfare assessment in pig production. However, validation studies are lacking for an important percentage of market available tools, and in particular research and development need to focus on identifying the feature candidates of the measures (e.g., deviations from diurnal pattern, threshold levels) that are valid signals of either negative or positive animal welfare. An important gap identified are the lack of technologies to assess affective states (both positive and negative states).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yaneth Gómez
- Department of Animal and Food Science, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Anna H. Stygar
- Bioeconomy and Environment, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Iris J. M. M. Boumans
- Animal Production Systems Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Eddie A. M. Bokkers
- Animal Production Systems Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | | | - Jarkko K. Niemi
- Bioeconomy and Environment, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Matti Pastell
- Production Systems, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Xavier Manteca
- Department of Animal and Food Science, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pol Llonch
- Department of Animal and Food Science, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
High biosecurity and welfare standards in fattening pig farms are associated with reduced antimicrobial use. Animal 2020; 14:2178-2186. [PMID: 32349838 DOI: 10.1017/s1751731120000828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
In order to reduce antimicrobial use in pig production, the consequences of insufficient biosecurity and welfare problems need to be known. This study aimed to investigate associations between the number of antimicrobial treatments per fattening pig, and biosecurity, indicators for animal welfare as well as the prevalence of lesions at slaughter. The data used in this study were extracted from the pig health and welfare classification system (Sikava), which gathers data on medicine usage, meat inspection, animal welfare and the condition of farm buildings from over 95% of pig production in Finland. The data were registered during years from 2011 to 2013. Upon antimicrobial prescription, information on the number of fattening pigs treated and the main reason for treatment was recorded. In addition, at least 4 times per year, pig farms registered in Sikava were visited by the farm veterinarian who assessed, among other things, biosecurity and indicators for animal welfare (air quality, condition of facilities, cleanliness, enrichment and stocking density). Finally, data from slaughterhouse inspections were collected (number of carcasses with joint infection, abscesses, lung lesions, pleurisy and liver lesions). For analysis, these datasets were aggregated at the farm level to a quarter of a year. During the studied period, the mean number of antimicrobial treatments per fattening pig per 3 months was equal to 0.09. The main reasons for antimicrobial treatments were musculoskeletal diseases, tail biting and respiratory disorders (42, 33 and 12% of diagnoses, respectively). The meat inspection scoring indicated that as much as 14.7% of all pigs had pleurisy, 5.3% liver lesions and 4.1% abscesses. A standard zero-inflated negative binomial model was used to identify factors associated with the number of antimicrobial treatments per pig. The count of antimicrobial treatments per pig increased with the size of a farm. Regardless of prevalence of lesions, farms with poor drinking equipment, insufficient enrichment and a combination of poor condition of pens and high stocking density were associated with an increased number of antimicrobial treatments for musculoskeletal diseases per pig. Problems with stocking density and enrichment were associated with the number of antimicrobial treatments for tail biting, although these results depended on prevalence of joint infections. Problems with air quality and the combination of poor cleanliness and poor condition of facilities were associated with increased number of antimicrobial treatments due to respiratory diseases. This study suggests that by improving biosecurity and welfare at pig farms, antimicrobial use can be reduced.
Collapse
|
6
|
Continuous Monitoring of Pigs in Fattening Using a Multi-Sensor System: Behavior Patterns. Animals (Basel) 2019; 10:ani10010052. [PMID: 31888006 PMCID: PMC7022589 DOI: 10.3390/ani10010052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Revised: 12/20/2019] [Accepted: 12/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary The livestock sector seeks technologies and procedures to collect and manage data and information about its facilities and animals being the basis of the so-called precision livestock. The installation of unusual devices in commercial facilities, as well as the use of electronic feeding stations, allows observers to characterize the behavior pattern of each individual in order to improve farm management techniques and, therefore, its productivity. In this study, 30 Landrace pigs were monitored during the whole fattening period. Results from the study show that the ear skin temperatures of the animals can be used to distinguish animals with different thermal patterns. The parameters extracted from the feeding stations show consistent relationships between the parameters related to the frequency, size, and duration parameters, highlighting the differences in the feeding strategies. Abstract In this work, a complete fattening period (81 days) of a total of 30 Landrace pigs housed in two pens of a nucleus in Villatobas (Castilla-La Mancha, Spain) were supervised. The ear skin temperature of each animal was recorded every three minutes. The body weight, the date, the duration, and the amount of feed consumed per animal was monitored via an electronic feeding station. The objective was the identification of animals with different behaviors based on the integration of their thermal and intake patterns. The ear skin temperatures of the animals showed a negative relationship between the mean and the standard deviation (r = 0.83), distinguishing animals with different thermal patterns: individuals with high-temperature values show less thermal variability and vice versa. Feeding parameters showed differences in the feeding strategies of animals, identifying fast-eating animals with a high rate feed intake (60 g/min) and slow eaters (30 g/min). The correlation between the change in the rate of feed intake along with animal growth and feed efficiency reached a significant negative value (−0.57), indicating that animals that do not alter their rate of feed intake along breeding showed higher efficiencies. The difference in temperature of an animal with respect to the averaged group value has allowed us to identify animals with differentiated feeding patterns.
Collapse
|
7
|
Revilla M, Friggens NC, Broudiscou LP, Lemonnier G, Blanc F, Ravon L, Mercat MJ, Billon Y, Rogel-Gaillard C, Le Floch N, Estellé J, Muñoz-Tamayo R. Towards the quantitative characterisation of piglets' robustness to weaning: a modelling approach. Animal 2019; 13:2536-2546. [PMID: 31092303 PMCID: PMC6801654 DOI: 10.1017/s1751731119000843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2018] [Revised: 03/05/2019] [Accepted: 03/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Weaning is a critical transition phase in swine production in which piglets must cope with different stressors that may affect their health. During this period, the prophylactic use of antibiotics is still frequent to limit piglet morbidity, which raises both economic and public health concerns such as the appearance of antimicrobial-resistant microbes. With the interest of developing tools for assisting health and management decisions around weaning, it is key to provide robustness indexes that inform on the animals' capacity to endure the challenges associated with weaning. This work aimed at developing a modelling approach for facilitating the quantification of piglet resilience to weaning. A total of 325 Large White pigs weaned at 28 days of age were monitored and further housed and fed conventionally during the post-weaning period without antibiotic administration. Body weight and diarrhoea scores were recorded before and after weaning, and blood was sampled at weaning and 1 week later for collecting haematological data. A dynamic model was constructed based on the Gompertz-Makeham law to describe live weight trajectories during the first 75 days after weaning, following the rationale that the animal response is partitioned in two time windows (a perturbation and a recovery window). Model calibration was performed for each animal. Our results show that the transition time between the two time windows, as well as the weight trajectories are characteristic for each individual. The model captured the weight dynamics of animals at different degrees of perturbation, with an average coefficient of determination of 0.99, and a concordance correlation coefficient of 0.99. The utility of the model is that it provides biologically meaningful parameters that inform on the amplitude and length of perturbation, and the rate of animal recovery. Our rationale is that the dynamics of weight inform on the capability of the animal to cope with the weaning disturbance. Indeed, there were significant correlations between model parameters and individual diarrhoea scores and haematological traits. Overall, the parameters of our model can be useful for constructing weaning robustness indexes by using exclusively the growth curves. We foresee that this modelling approach will provide a step forward in the quantitative characterisation of robustness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M. Revilla
- GABI, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
- UMR MoSAR, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 75005, Paris, France
| | - N. C. Friggens
- UMR MoSAR, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 75005, Paris, France
| | - L. P. Broudiscou
- UMR MoSAR, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 75005, Paris, France
| | - G. Lemonnier
- GABI, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - F. Blanc
- GABI, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - L. Ravon
- UE GenESI, INRA, 17700, Surgères, France
| | - M. J. Mercat
- IFIP-Institut du porc and Alliance R&D, 35651, Le Rheu, France
| | - Y. Billon
- UE GenESI, INRA, 17700, Surgères, France
| | - C. Rogel-Gaillard
- GABI, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - N. Le Floch
- UMR PEGASE, INRA, AgroCampus Ouest, 35590, Saint-Gilles, France
| | - J. Estellé
- GABI, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - R. Muñoz-Tamayo
- UMR MoSAR, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 75005, Paris, France
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Haemodynamics Imaging of Swine Segmental Kidney Artery Using Duplex Doppler Technique. J Vet Res 2019; 63:259-265. [PMID: 31276066 PMCID: PMC6598193 DOI: 10.2478/jvetres-2019-0036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction The aim of the study was to assess the usefulness of duplex Doppler to objectify swine renal arterial flow in physiological conditions. The pig kidney was selected for its morphological similarities to the human and for the results therefore offering data to wider research. Material and Methods Six White Large x Landrace sows, of 48.5-53 kg b.w. were used. Vascular flow parameters were acquired with a convex probe USG device with a duplex Doppler function using pulsed waves (frequency range of 5-7.5 MHz). Segmental kidney arterial flow was measured. Results The RI values were within the 0.57 (min) to 0.6 (max) range, x RI was 0.58 (±0.014), and the SD2value was 0.0002. The PI index values ranged from 1.21 (min) to 1.3 (max), and x PI was 1.24 (±0.035). The value of SD2was 0.00123. In the S/D index, the results fell between 2.2 (min) and 2.49 (max), with x S/D of 2.29 (±0.117). The value of variance SD2was 0.0139. A double analysis of correlation between indices showed this to be almost certain and highly positive as confirmed by high correlation coefficients: r RI & PI 0.857, rho RI & PI 0.739, r RI & S/D 0.930, rho RI & S/D 0.941, r PI & S/D 0.913, and rho PI & S/D 0.754. The segmental kidney arterial flow spectrum evinced falls in PSV and PSV/LDV ratio, also noticed in the filling of the spectral window, comparing the renal to an interlobar artery. Conclusion Swine were selected because of renal anatomical and haemodynamic similarity to humans. The most relevant values and indices approximated those in humans. The study anaesthetic protocol had a minor influence on the average RI, PI, and S/D indices.
Collapse
|